Rossi Rifleman

Really bummed out. Hunting the moon, missed a large hog last night at about 2 am. Was using the R92 357 Mag & TLC359-190-RF, distance was 70 yards. Got started a bit early tonight with a miss at 9 pm. Using the Rem 600 & TLC359-190-RF, distance was 80 yards. Heart hasn't really been in it as it is warm and I just have been tired. Now I'm bummed that I have two misses on me.

Going to take a few days off and then spend a lot of time on my range next weekend to see what is a matter with me. Leave on my desert mule deer hunt on the 6th so I've got to work out what is wrong with me.

Ha!

Kinda like when I go to the range and the first round is dead center, after
that I might as well throw rocks at the target.

Happens to us all RD you'll work it out.

Can't get too excited about a range trip with the thermometer hovering
at 28 F ... Jim

Human.

It's hard to accept.

A generous friend that I hunt with always offers me the first shot.
After learning the hard way many times, now when he offers I say:

"No thanks. I'd rather watch you miss, than have you watch me miss!"

He laughs every time.

It happens to all us at some time or another. Being tired and your heart not it, would be a good reason for the missed. It's kind of strange how the mind and body works.

Maybe it was a combo of lack of sleep and eager to get results from the new load.

Look at this way. Better to have missed, than made a bad shot and wounded one. Who wants to track a wounded hog in the dark? We all miss now and then - some of us more often than others.

Nothing a range trip or two cannot get sorted out.

akuser47 wrote:Nothing a range trip or two cannot get sorted out.

I think it is the BHN of this batch of old bullets. I haven't shot many rounds of 35 Rem in the last few years but I'm getting my Rem 600 up to speed and the same for my Marlin 336D that I've just converted to a XS Scout. My supply of bullets is about 8 years old and I was having some problems with the 600 at 42.0K PSI. I pulled out the LBT BHN Tester and sure enough, they have run out of steam as they now sit at 15 BHN. With my 95/5 WW/Sn mix plus a bit of #8 shot, these bullets started out at 21 BHN.

Yesterday while the turkey cooked, I started over on the reloading. I switched from H335 to H4198 as at 35.0K PSI, the H4198 delivered the greatest velocity (2100 FPS) and the highest case fill (93%). Hopefully, I will get a chance to shoot them today but we have a bunch of rain in the forecast.

During the load work up I would get a frequent flier. I wasn't sure what was causing this but I suspect that if I checked every bullet I would find differences in the hardness. The bore would also start to foul after about 15 shots, not bad, just start building up and would have to be cleaned by 25 shots.

Over the last decade, I've changed how many bullets I cast at a time. I don't shoot individual firearms much after I finish load work but I do have an huge amount of firearms and they all get shot during the year. My TMT software's inventory system has helped me get a grip on things so I now have a very good estimate on what is going to be consumed over the course of a year. As an example, I will shoot only about 20 35 Rem bullets out of each rifle in a year once my load is set so in January, I will only cast about 50 bullets from the mold and then move on to the bullet mold for the next cartridge. I use to cast a pot full & it would take me a decade to use them. The smaller lots cures the storage issue, the time involved in completing a bullet, and allows me more time for and not to be wore out when I get to my large volume bullets (7.62x39, 9mm Luger, and 45 ACP).

The first clue should have been when I cleaned the cartridges after reloading them. I usually use a little mineral spirits to remove any lube buildup but with these there was a pretty good lead stain on the cloth. A 21 BHN does not leave that and I remembered in passing how odd I thought it was and that is what eventually lead me to pulling out the BHN Tester.

Hopefully the drop in pressure will cure any issues related to the low BHN and variations in BHN. If not, the two rifles will be shelved until next spring when new bullets are ready and the old lot of bullets will be turned into new ones.

9PM,,,,, ,,,I am about dead by then.